The Wind Harp
by aikakone
Summary: Huan Beifong is suffering an artistic block, but he's hired to do an art installation at a new Air Temple that is being built under Ikki's supervision. Will he beat his block and create for her the thing that will make her heart sing?


Huan could never get used to riding the air bison. No matter how often he was on Opal's Juicy, he felt the need to curl up in a ball and wash himself when it was over. His sister winced in understanding, but she held her tongue for apologies. She stopped making those long ago.

"Are you sure I am needed at this air temple?" he asked grouchily, making sure his robes and hair were just so after he'd disembarked the air bison.

Huan was sometimes so fastidious that his mannerisms sometimes read as gay. He usually told the assuming person that he was an artist and not interested in arbitrary labels. He loved who and what he loved. If the Avatar could do that, so could he.

"The head of the new construction specifically asked for you. Something about some multi-element art pieces," she reminded him of the message she'd delivered when she found him.

He'd been in seclusion in the mountains trying to tap into his inner creative chi because it had been blocked for far longer than he'd like to admit. That meant he had been out of the gossip loop about the new temple until Opal found him. He didn't know why he tried artistic seclusion other than the fact that he'd been desperate. While the idea was great, it never usually wielded him good results. Who was an artist who couldn't create art? He was a failure, that's what.

After Opal brought him the invitation, he was quite curious but none the wiser about who was in charge of the project. Opal was tight-lipped about it and, therefore, no help at all.

"Is Meelo doing this?" he asked, suddenly apprehensive.

He and Meelo had always clashed about art, and not because the airbender lacked skill. His art was too photo-realistic. If Huan wanted art like that, he'd take a photograph, not bend something into place.

Opal sighed and looked as if she was unwilling to share the news. "No, Meelo is in the south working with some of the military. He is an excellent trainer and strategist."

Huan shook his head, his still long hair blowing in the gentle breeze about the air temple. He feared Meelo's despot tendancies, but he seemed to have it in check. Many thanks belonged to his girlfriend, an earthbender who kept him grounded.

It was somewhat inevitable that earthbenders and airbenders would make love matches. In the years since the Air Nation had returned, they worked mainly with the citizens of the various Earth nations.

"Master Huan?" an air acolyte addressed him at his elbow. "I am here to take you to the temple master."

Opal mounted Juicy and waved him off to his meeting. "Good luck!"

He waved to his sister and followed the acolyte across the property out to the cliffs opposite from where he and Opal had arrived.

* * *

Ikki rested low to the ground, eyeing from that angle where she wanted her art pieces to go. She had visions of several at the new temple site. She wanted kinetic pieces and musical pieces. She was tempted to put them both in this spot, which was her favorite of all the temple lands.

She heard in the distance the air acolyte bring Master Huan to her. The acolyte stepped with a heavy foot and was originally one of the poor from old Ba Sing Se. He had no talent for air or stealth, but he was a good worker.

From her position on the ground, she could tell Huan had not noticed her. Opal was told explicitly not to mention her name with his summoning. She was trying to be as professional as possible because he was chosen for his abilities to metal bend and make art, not his abilities to make butterflies appear in her stomach after all this time.

"Hello?" he called out after seeing no one. His fingers tapped restlessly on his arm.

Ikki stood and sent a warm breeze in his direction to ruffle the long hair that was unbound around his face. When he looked in her direction, his eyes subtly widened, but he didn't give away any of his thoughts.

"Hello, Huan," she said with a soft smile. "I asked you to come here. I hope Opal treated you well."

"She treated me like her brother. How would you treat Meelo?" he asked.

Ikki chuckled at that. "I am very glad you are here in one piece then! I was just thinking about what I wanted for this specific place. I know that this spot more than the others must have something truly special, and only you can make it happen."

He walked by standing eternal flame and looked around. The little area on the cliff had beautiful rocks and was sided by a grove of trees. The water crashed into the shore below, and the wind rushed up from the rocks. Though it was located on air temple lands, it was the perfect meld of all the elements. Ikki hoped he'd see the balance in it, something she'd tried to find.

At last speaking, Huan asked, "Did you pick this spot?"

"I did, as I did all other major decisions with this new temple. I am the master in charge here," she said with modesty.

"Congratulations," he said. "So what do you want here?"

She let out a breath that had pent up wishes in it. She could have gotten what she wanted without the visiting master. She knew she could, but his art would make it better, making it a mix of two things she dearly loved.

"I want a musical instrument that can be played by the wind as it rises up from the cliff," she said. "It must be wild and beautiful as only you can make it."

He looked around again at the area, but it wasn't completely clear what he was thinking. At last Huan told Ikki, "I need to stay here while I work. I must get in touch with the land to know what best will fit with it."

"Of course!" she agreed. "If you need some time now, I shall go at once to make sure we have a suitable room where you can stay."

"Yes, please," Huan said as he looked out again at the water. "I will stay here for a while and meditate."

"Thank you," Ikki told him before jogging back to the main hub of activity.

* * *

When the beautiful young airbender left, Huan let out a breath of relief. He remembered Ikki easily as the child and teenager she had been, but she had stood before him as the confident adult she had become. She was tall like her father Tenzin, but her figure had healthy womanly curves. Her hair that had regrown to be long was restrained in a braid that he guessed she used while she was working.

Huan felt like a lecherous old man for a moment. He hadn't noticed her before because it had been inappropriate to notice her. It was fine to look at her now, but the doing so had surprised him too much. He congratulated himself on at least having enough sense to say he'd stay on site while he prepared the instrument.

He sat down to meditate and feel the earth and open space around him. Maybe then he'd get ideas about what could be wild and fitting. He also searched the earth for any ores that might be hidden inside it. He took off his shoes and rested them on the ground so he could feel with all his senses what was around him.

Then he heard music in his head. It was like all the art that had been blocking him when he'd been hiding alone in the mountains came to him in a tumble of impressions. Yes, yes, he had so many things to make, but which would be the best for here?

Huan stayed there for so long he lost track of time. It was only his stomach reminding him to eat that he decided to head back to the main compound of the temple in search of whatever vegetarian delights the air acolytes prepared.

* * *

In the evening, Ikki heard a soft knock on her door. It seemed people were always knocking on her door. She had just gotten out of her bath and hoped to relax before sleeping. She had even learned to enjoy reading, though not as much as Jinora, so she could read an adventure story or romance if she was so inclined.

The man on the other side of the door made her thoughts of romance momentarily flee. Huan Beifong looked as if he, too, had just come from the bath. Little drops of water still peppered some of the exposed parts of his skin. He was lovely.

Ikki knew about perceptions changing. Her perception of him had remained the same for the entire time she had known him. He was gentle and kind, but it was wrapped around a metalbender's strength.

"May I come in?" he asked.

"Certainly. Of course," she added as she opened the door wider to let him pass.

Huan came into the room and sat at a chair near her bed, so Ikki got out her comb to tame the tangles. She sat on her bed and gave him a look to tell whatever was on his mind. When he didn't speak, she turned her head to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking of when you tried fixing my hair when you were a girl," he held his hands to his uncontrollable mane.

"I remember that," she said with a laugh. "You had good hair. It was heavy and thick. Easy to braid."

"I don't think I ever did get out all the braids you tried putting in my hair that one time," he said with a laugh. Then he sobered because he wasn't relaxing with the same child. "I have an idea for an instrument to put there. I'm not sure yet how it will look, but I've got the idea."

"Tell me," she said, leaning forward with interest, her hair cascading around her shoulders.

"A wind harp. If we put it to the right angle, the air will pass through the strings putting music into the air day or night. It will take metal strings and something to resonate the sound…" Huan shook his head. "I'm not an instrument maker."

"No, but I believe in you," Ikki said as she stood up to clasp his hand quickly in confidence. "Are there any other things you would like to make? I was hoping for some kinetic sculptures, but I don't know what schedule you have right now. Your art is in such demand. People want you nearly as much as they want Avatar Korra."

She walked away from him to get an evening beverage, and she could hear him sputtering behind her. She let him stew on her words before bringing him a glass of sweetened water. She handed it to him and they drank in companionable silence.

"I'm not as popular as Avatar Korra," he said after a drink. "I would like to think so, but not everyone appreciates my art."

"I do," Ikki said. "I know what I like. That's why you're here."

She hadn't been flirting with him, but the young master airbender thought she saw him squirm under her regard. He was an artist and should be used to accolades. Just because she actually did see him as an attractive person worth flirting with didn't change her professional decisions. That she was telling herself very loudly.

"How long may I stay?" he asked.

"As long as you need," she replied in authoritative mode. "I need any art pieces you've made to be done in a month, but if you wish to stay longer, you certainly may."

Huan looked into his glass before confessing, "Thank you. I'll like that. I was hiding on a mountain before, but it did nothing for my art. Sitting in that spot today filled me with so many ideas. I don't feel I can contain them all. It's been a long time since I've been this excited about anything."

After their brief visit, Ikki showed Huan to the door so she could spend some time alone in her chambers. He stood outside and took a moment to get his bearings before going back to the sparse room where he would sleep.

* * *

In the days that followed, Huan was up at dawn every day exploring the grounds of the property to get ideas for things to represent the temple. He also began talking with several of the acolytes and trainees. These were much friendlier people than the batch from Opal's group. It had been a much different time then. There were some airbenders in the group who were part of the new Air Nation and had never lived in the time when the total number of airbenders in the world could be counted on one hand.

He thought and thought about his air instrument design while he made kinetic sculptures in various places on the island. He had hanging pieces, and others that moved in the breeze. In his younger years he would have scoffed at them, but making them now made him happy in a way that he had not been in a while. He especially enjoyed the ones that looked like flowers spiraling in on themselves.

During meal times when he could remember to eat with the group, he invited himself to sit with Ikki. He hadn't presumed to do it the first time, but she had called him over. Then he joined her often, making small talk about the projects. He felt it better to talk to her around people than go to her rooms in the evening as he had done that first night. He didn't want people to talk about her and get the wrong impression of the air master. The down side of sharing lunches with her was that Huan had to share Ikki with everyone else who looked to her for leadership.

Other times at the new temple, she would play with the children in a way that was infectious. They would do air racing games that looked as if they were the most fun thing in the world. She and the children would all fall to the ground in a pile of laughing and giggling bodies.

As Huan made more things at the temple and felt in touch with his creative chi, he began to work shirtless. He would bend his body as he bent the metal to his will. He was busy creating something when a leaf floated by on the breeze to land on his cheek. He turned to see Ikki in one of her rare moments alone at the edge of where he was working.

He nodded to her, and she stepped forward. Smiling at her with mischief he made the earth rise up to kiss the bottoms of her feet with every step she took closer to him. When she at last was in front of him, he gently merged the earth back into the ground.

"Master Huan!" she said with a bright smile, showing how much she had loved the little game. "Are you on schedule for making my wind instrument?"

He dropped his chin and held back the knee-jerk reaction. It would have been easy to say that art took time, but he also knew when taking the assignment that he had a deadline.

"I have not made it yet. In truth, I have been considering my options while I made many other small things around the temple," he finally said.

"Yes, I have seen them. If you don't have anything to show yet, I may have to skip it on the tour," she muttered to herself.

He raised his eyebrows. "What tour is this?"

"I have a messenger from the Fire Nation visiting the day after tomorrow. I was hoping to show him some of your creations," she said, her mind clearly distracted.

"My apologies, Ikki, but I won't have it ready in two days. I will have it by the deadline you gave me," he said.

"Yes, and that is two weeks away. My father, Avatar Korra and many other dignitaries will be here to see what I have done with this new temple," she said, her shoulders slumping for a moment as she considered all her responsibilities.

Huan stepped to her and put his hand on her shoulder to offer comfort. "You have been amazing. This temple is so beautiful, and all the acolytes and trainees love you. I have never been to a place with peace like this, not even when I was alone on my mountain."

Putting her hand over his, Ikki asked, "It is?"

"Yes. It's a beautiful place," he said, his eyes not straying from hers.

She stepped back. "I must get back."

"Ikki," he called out as a thought came to him. "Why do you usually send a leaf to me when you find me outside?"

Huan held a leaf in his hand, maybe even the same one she had sent on the breeze to announce her coming.

"It's so that nothing will surprise you. It would be a shame for you to be in the middle of creation and lose your ideas because you were horribly interrupted," she explained.

"Do you greet others that way?" he asked.

She thought of it and realized she didn't. "No. Just you."

"Good," he replied and saluted her with the leaf. Then he turned his muscled back to her and focused once again on the air he was making in this grove.

* * *

The morning the emissary from the Fire Nation arrived, the people at the new temple were full of whispers and gossip. Huan had tried to make his design for the instrument, but it just wouldn't come to him. He was having great frustration, so he sat at the back of the room with a few of the acolytes.

The man from the Fire Nation sat by Ikki looking too comfortable beside her. Though Huan was a pacifist, he had an urge to step on the man's toe just on principle.

"I think they look cute together," a female acolyte said aloud near him as if in response to his inner monologue.

"Master Ikki doesn't love him any more," her friend said.

That perked up Huan's ears. "Any more? Were they a couple?"

"Yes," the first woman answered with a vigorous nod. "It was going to be a glorious match. I think they were even engaged."

"I do remember reading something about that in the newspaper," the second acolyte agreed. "But she changed her mind. No one really knows why."

Huan studied the pair, and from that distance, he couldn't be certain of what he was seeing. He knew Ikki when she was being professional now, and her body language was very starchy. The stiffness reminded him again that she was Tenzin's daughter.

When the pair left the dining area, Huan decided to follow them at a distance. He didn't lie to himself the he wasn't nosey. He had to know if there was anything between the two other than their professional relationship.

As he caught up to them at one of his sculptures, he overheard Ikki saying, "This one is by Master Huan of Zaofu."

The man wrinkled his nose as if it were offensive. Huan knew he had harsh critics at times, but he would not be mocked by that firebender.

"And where was your Master Huan today? He didn't see fit to greet me?" the man said.

Ikki sighed at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "You seem to think you are much more important than you really are, Kazuo. This is why we could never be married. You have no humility."

"Who needs humility when you can have the fiery connection we have? You know it's true. You are so passionate, Ikki. But you are wasting it out here at this remote temple," he said, disgust for the situation coloring his tone.

"Do my people have the supplies and letters you brought us? If so, then you should just go. We are not a good match, and I will not argue with you about it. Leave now," she said.

The man Kazuo looked at Ikki for a long time as if trying to put together a retort. Finally, he said, "You'll be sorry. You'll miss me."

"I can't miss you if you don't go away," she said, not budging her opinion.

When he finally left, Ikki walked out to the sacred space where she wished Huan to build her instrument. She rested on the ground in the calming energy of the place, not knowing that the artist watched her for a few seconds and contemplated the instrument. Then he got the image clearly in his mind's eye, so Huan left Ikki with her thoughts and sped back to his simple room.

* * *

In the evening after the firebender had gone for good, Huan stood again in front of Ikki's chamber door. He knocked firmly, and he heard rustling from inside before she called out for him to identify himself.

"It's Huan. I have a message for you. You don't have to open the door. Just listen," he said and paused.

Huan touched the door as if he could touch her face on the other side. He was surprised then by the fact that the door opened to reveal a very sad-faced Ikki.

"What is it?" she asked, sniffling.

He looked at her with sympathy. "A beautiful face like yours should never look this sad."

"So if I had an ugly face, then would it be okay to look sad?" she asked, a bit of her temper flaring.

"No, of course not. I didn't mean it like that. Ikki, I finally have my instrument design. I figured it out this afternoon. I think you will be very pleased. But I need your help with one thing," he said. He had to restrain his urge to caress her face as he looked at her.

Trying to shake off her mood, she asked, "What do you want?"

"I want it to be a surprise, even for you. I need you to stay away from there for a week. I will be done by then. It might even be sooner than that, but there will be enough time to put together something new if you hate it. I don't think you will, though," he ended softly.

"One week?" she asked.

"Yes! I will come to you when it's ready. Is that agreeable to you?" he asked.

Ikki stepped away from her door so she could close it. "Okay."

Then Huan was once again on the other side of the door from her.

* * *

In the week that followed, Huan was a mad, bad bending machine. He worked with a few of his favorite air acolytes, and they were busy during every moment of daylight getting his musical sculptures ready. He was barely in any of the common areas, so Ikki grew to miss his face and kind words. She missed his long hair as it trailed along in his wake, so different from that of the air acolytes and trainees.

Ikki missed Huan. It was a strange feeling. Seeing Kazuo again reminded her of what she thought she wanted. She'd nearly gotten it, but he wasn't what she really needed. He didn't make her heart sing wildly yet have it overtaken with peace. Things with Kazuo would never be repaired, but the thought of Huan still gave her a smile when she thought of him. She thought of him often. She just didn't want to admit it.

Feeling restless one evening, Ikki walked out to one of the spinning flowers that Huan had made. The air was still this evening, so she bent a small gust of wind to set it in motion. When it moved, it was satisfyingly beautiful.

"Ikki?" Huan's low voice called out to her.

The air master turned to her artist in residence. "Good evening, Huan."

He bowed from the waist. "I was looking everywhere for you. Are you ready to see the instrument?"

She looked at him with an intrigued expression. "Yes!"

"This way, please" he said before giving her his arm. Together they walked to the grove before the clearing. At the entrance where the two acolytes who had helped him all week.

"Two of the trainees are holding back the wind on the other side, Master Huan" the first acolyte said.

"They are trying to, at least!" said the second.

"That is very difficult," Ikki said with worry.

"Then let us not keep them waiting long," he said as he walked her into the clearing.

At the setting of the evening sun, the entire plateau was drenched in oranges, yellows, pinks and reds. The airbender trainees practiced their shield techniques, and she shot suspicious looks at Huan.

"It was easier to ask one of the students than one of the teachers," he explained.

Near the edge of the cliff stood a harp similar to that which could be plucked by an experience player. The strings were many, and Huan had metal bent the support for it to look like many of the different elements in metal. Waves imitating water and air were present as well as licks of flame. The ornaments of the magnificent harp were above and beyond it like a crown of glory.

It looked beautiful to the eye, but Ikki had to know. "How does it sound?"

"Patience, my dear master," he said, clearly proud of his work. "If I would have only made this, that might have been enough, but I also made the two wooden boxes you see there at the front sides of the cliff face."

Ikki noticed the wooden boxes that had long slats on the sides. They sat at opposite ends of the curved cliff edge. "Are they benches?"

Smiling with delight, Huan said, "No. They are more instruments so that instead of one, we have three harps of two kinds here."

He walked over to one of the benders and picked up the blanket that had been near his feet. Then he reminded him of the signal to stop holding back the wind. The artist put the blanket down on the ground, and asked Ikki to sit down on it since the sound would be best heard from there. Then Huan signaled the airbenders to stop their bending and walk away.

As they left Ikki and Huan together on the blanket, the natural winds from the cliff started to rise to make sounds in the three different instruments. Ikki let out a sigh of perfect pleasure as she let the music wash over her. She went all the way back to the ground to listen to the sounds of each instrument in its best voice. She thought only of that and did not think immediately of Master Huan on the blanket beside her.

"This is perfect," she finally declared dreamily.

"Ikki, I confess I watched you here the day Kazuo came from the Fire Nation. You were alone, and I shouldn't have stared at you without letting you know," he shared.

Warily, she sat up on the blanket. Huan rushed on with his explanation, not letting her regard stop him.

"I saw how you enjoyed this place, and I remembered when I first came that you were resting on the ground. I don't know why, but it seemed like something you enjoyed. I know this spot is supposed to be for everyone as a meeting of the elements, but I wanted to please _you_," he said.

Ikki was quiet a while, then she placed her hand on his. "You did. This was always my favorite place, but now more so."

Taking her hands away, she made the wind dance to and from the instruments. The music she generated was beautiful and different every time. She smiled beside him, and Huan took pleasure in staring at her instead at anything of the beautiful place they had created.

When she was done, Ikki turned her happy face to him, and he looked in her eyes. He swallowed hard as he looked at her.

"I think I should very much like to kiss you, Master Ikki," he said in quiet reverence.

Her first reaction was a soft laugh. "I used to daydream that you would, but those were childhood dreams. I'm not a child."

"Thankfully not. Otherwise, I would feel very strange wanting to kiss you now," he said.

She put her hand on the ground to steady her as she leaned into him and placed the other hand on his neck. Huan leaned forward with one hand steady on her waist, meeting her lips. It was a soft kiss, gentle and not so hungry or angry as some of his kisses with others had been. Still, it was the kind of kiss that left him wanting more, both in frequency and quantity.

"It is dark now. We should go back," Ikki said reluctantly.

Huan stood and folded the blanket over his arm while Ikki again surveyed the plateau. She then put her hand into his and walked back to the compound.

* * *

In the week that followed before the final unveiling of the temple, Ikki and Huan were both busy with final preparations. Their moments were few but appreciated when they came. They shared breakfast, evening tea and sometimes with a walk out to the wind harps for good measure.

The honored guests arrived, including Avatar Korra and Asami Sato, Tenzin, Chief Tonraq, Suyin Beifong, Fire Lord Izumi and many others. The airbenders proudly displayed the beauty of their temple grounds to everyone. Special delight was taken at the sculptures that Huan had made just for the temple.

"They are beautiful, my son," Su told her boy with the proud eyes of a mother.

"I feel at peace here," he said. "It was easy."

"Does that sense of ease also come from her?" Su asked with a glance to Ikki who was hugging her father and sister.

"It does," he admitted. "Strange, isn't it?"

"Love is that," Su agreed wisely. "But so wonderful when you find it. And you deserve happiness. Does she love you back?"

"I think so, yes," he said smiling brightly. "I thought I was too old for her, but she knows her own mind. She is kind and independent, and she made this temple happen. Ikki is amazing, mother."

"I think I like the sound of that," Ikki said as she stood behind him. Tenzin had joined her to greet Su, so he was standing patiently.

"Dad," the young air master said as she took Huan's hand, "Huan and I are…"

"I've seen that look before," Tenzin interrupted calmly, surprising the other three. To Huan, he said, "Treat my daughter well, and all will be in harmony."

Tenzin gave a parting bow and Su followed him away, leaving Huan and Ikki time to speak. Instead of words, she leaned up to give him a kiss, unafraid of who was watching. He held her tightly to him, enjoying everything about their kiss and what they had become.

After they finished their kiss, Ikki stepped back with a proud smile on her face. "Come, Master Huan. Let's show everyone the wind harps you made."

"Aye," he agreed, putting a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I think I would follow you anywhere."


End file.
